Cozying Up Your Home and Spaces Indoor and Out No Budget Needed How To

Welcome to The Cherry On Top.

Today, I'm sharing some tips on how to cozy up and change around rooms and outside spaces. I get bored really easy. It drives everyone crazy! Hehehe... I change things continually. Making things cleaner and more efficient, for the most part.

I'm a stay at home mom. So, I've got super limited dosh for big projects. I've got to be frugal. Sometimes the challenge is fun.

All three of my guys are traipsing around America at the moments. So, I've got lots of time on my hand and boy oh boy have I been at it. Our house was in dire need of a deep clean. Also, we got this wood burning stove a few years ago and I like to change the room around where the living is in front of the stove in winter. I went a bit crazy this time.

I moved all of the smaller pieces of furniture out of the room. I vacuumed, mopped, leather waxed and then waxed the entire floor and floor boards. After, dusting and scrubbing the surfaces. I even cleaned all of the dust bunnies from in between the radiators and I have to share how I did it. I can't believe I didn't think about it years earlier.

If you look closely at the stove, you'll see a glass plate on the floor. Sometimes things get blown under the plate and it drove me nuts until I finally thought about using our compressor to blow the crap out from underneath. Yay! That's the same thing I used to clean the radiators. Of course, the dust blows everywhere, but when you plan on doing this type of deep clean, it's no problem.

I sucked up all of the dust bunnies under and around the furniture and I even went as far as polishing and re staining the wooden bits. I also repadded the feet of all of the furniture. This way I can move it around easily without scratching up my wood floor.

Before...

This is a foot of a huge, grandfather clock. I did not move this piece of furniture. In order to re stain the clock without messing up my floor, I used a cotton swab around the bottom. Easy peasy!

After! Looks like new!

I lightly sanded my old dining table. Can you see the difference? One half is re stained and the other not.

Nearly all of our furniture is used. I didn't buy anything for my upgrades either.

I swapped the rooms around like I mentioned above and put plants all over the place to cozy it up and clean the air a bit. I had some large rattan dining chairs that were given to us and I ditched them because they were bulky, didn't really match the rest of the darker furniture and they were terribly uncomfortable. They took up a lot of space.

I brought down our old dining chairs that I bought 20 years ago at a thrift shop. They too needed staining, but they look super, now. They match the table perfect! Whoo hoo! There's my doggo!

Note how small the furniture is? The small, round table is perfect for our family of four and even why when my mother-in-law comes for dinner. The chairs are slim and the cushions are not too large either. This furniture is ideal for a smaller space. Watch out how large or overstuffed your furniture is. Especially if you have a small space.

Wood, fabric, lamp shades with yellow, warming light bulbs, plants all add a warm touch. The reddish color also brings warmth to the room. The cushions of the chairs, the stove and my plant pots match. Using the same color around the room will add cohesion and balance.  

I had a dresser under the TV, but I really desperately needed it in the bedroom. I replaced it with a piece of furniture from the hallway that really wasn't being use efficiently. Again, I lightly sanded it and re stained it, padded the feet and filled it with items we use all of the time.

I need a piece of furniture here to cover up all of those darn cords from the TV and other devices. I even added this plant, after repotting it in a coordinating pot. It's also concealing the outlet. More plants to add character.

I took down a huge framed print from my hub's grandma. The frame was damaged and the print was terribly discolored. It wasn't easy, but it just had to go. The replacement isn't all that much better. It's really old and the frame is also slightly damaged. It does match the room better. The dark colored frame is a nice contrast of my light wall paper, which is also really old. Hehehe...

I do have a small rug for under the living room table and I'm debating one for under the dining table, but it just gets so yucky. It's easier and cleaner without rugs, but rugs do all warmth and our pets seem to like them as well.

Nothing like flowers and plants to brighten your house both inside and out.

Here's a shot of my planter, outside. With all of this cold, hard stone, some soft, pink and white flowers are definitely in order.

This poor, sad room needed lots of love. It took me quite a while and next to no budget, but...

Darn! These walls needed FOUR coats of paint which really stinks because I was hoping that bucket would get me through a few rooms. My plan it to just use white and when I have a little cash here and there, I'll paint a wall or two with some color. Steady as she goes...

The laminate floors in our house look like mega good quality and I like the wood look, too. Since I don't have money to buy new floors, I'm keeping them for now. They were SO dirty! I had no idea I'd be able to clean them so well. They were grey and dingy. I was so, so happy I could clean them because even though they are probably at least 40 years old, they look pretty darn good.

I tried all different kinds of products before I found one that worked like a charm and that is Dasty. It is available at Wibra stores and it's dirt cheap. Win! Win! It's also great for grease and stickers!

The room still needs a few more touches and larger items. I did add a simple clothes rack and there's a small carpet on one side of the bed I bought new for 10 Euros. Everything else I brought over from my attic. That bedding is 30 years old! Even the darn plant is several years old. Hehehe...

The night light came with the house when we bought it. The pictures came with our other house when we bought it, too. This wall should have a larger picture or wall decor, but it'll have to wait, too. I keep going to the thrift store, but didn't find anything appropriate for this room. Did you know that Germany (where our place is) does not have thrift stores?! Yikes!!! Those in Belgium are super lame.

Throw pillows are an excellent way to add fabric/texture, color and luxury. These are not exactly luxurious pillows, but they are all I have and they are pretty old. You could buy covers for them at a cheap price. Action sells them for about 5 Euros. I'll be changing the pillows soon.

A big part of my tiny budget is going to our balcony because it is where we spend most of our time. I did buy new outdoor furniture in the form of a couch, 2 chairs and a table and bought some very inexpensive accessories. How lucky that these retro colors are in style, here in Europe? This yellowy gold and green are the colors in the tiles of the floor. I repeated the colors all around for cohesion. The blanket looks so cozy! No? All of the stuff on the table is used. My neighbor was throwing out a bunch of plant pots and I grabbed half of them. The plant is new. 2.99 and worth every penny. The green coordinates with the rest of the green and that vibrant pink is a nice color pop and gives a sweet tropical vibe. The woven basket adds a handmade touch and is rich in texture, too. Of course candles are ideal to cozy a place as well.

Area rugs, blankets, pillows, plants, candles, whicker and wood are all items that bring on a nice, naturally cozy vibe. I recommend looking in to color psychology as well as feng shui. I didn't know I was totally feng shui until I watched a video on it. I had no idea what it was, but boy oh boy, if things are not balanced or if the room or area is too cold, sharp or minimalist I'm way off. I find it difficult to focus and even get annoyed or irritated when an area is as mentioned or if things are messy with no order.

Here, I'm using my tips for adding warmth to your areas and rooms. Rugs, plants, texture, balance, zero clutter and very clean.

Besides the lounge set (400 Euros) and rugs (30 Euros a piece) that I bought, everything else was found at the garbage drop off or picked up from neighbors who put their "junk" at the street for anyone to come and grab it. I'm not too proud. In fact, I often thank them. (I do the same thing in my neighborhood. Only a few pieces were gifts and recycled stuffs from the attic.

Plants add character, clean the air and cozy up a place. They add different shapes, color and provide nourishment for insects and arachnids. I'll go into detail about planting these gorgeous, huge planters in a future blog. You'll get a great idea by looking closely at the pictures.

Our balcony is enormous. These huge planters help take up a lot space as well as add interest, height, shape and color. We also get some entertainment as various insects come for a visit and refreshment. I used the cheapest plants at the store.

Come on back and check out more on how to put together a huge planter for next to nothing.

Above, is a shot of my living room. Everything but the plant and curtains are recycled I cleaned this room from head to toe, painted the walls white and brought some stuff from the attic. The chair I bought from my neighbor for 20 Euros and the table was out for grabs at another neighbor's house. The plant in the window was a baby from my huge spider plant.

Note the different sizes, groupings and repetition of color. This is what brings an area together giving it a vibe of relaxation, coziness and zen or balance.

I'm sure a before picture is totally in order here, but alas, I've none. I got rid all of the clutter in the driveway, trimmed and primped all of the vegetation, weeded and scrubbed up the surfaces. All of the chaos in the driveway was removed. I now can leave the gate wide open and not be mortified. Hehehe...

Decluttering is therapeutic! Keep it simple. Think triangles and the rule of three when it comes to arrangements. Think flow when moving furniture. How easy is it to get through and around the room? Get rid of things you don't really need or use if there is too much clutter or store it away and bring it out when necessary. I could write up something specifically for the kitchen. That's a tough one to de clutter!

 Here's a fun, free design for you.

Come on back for another visit and definitely check out the years and years of blogs before this one for hundreds of freebies, cooking tips, gardening diy and more.

Click this image and get started on our Laundry series.
 

Thanks for hanging with The Cherry. Happy home making!